Ash's Lycanroc/Anime/History/With Ash
In A Guardian Rematch!, Lycanroc, as a Rockruff, was used in its first official battle, in which it faced Hiroki and his . During the battle, Rockruff performed for the first time, which was able to defeat Mudbray. In A Glaring Rivalry!, Rockruff was seen training with Ash's Rowlet and . Later, it witnessed its evolved form winning a battle against a , which greatly impressed it. Ash later used Rockruff in his battle against in which it battled Lycanroc. Rockruff got quickly overwhelmed by Lycanroc's great speed and fierce moves, but was still able to battle. The battle was then interrupted by , who captured Pikachu and Lycanroc. In Trials and Determinations!, Rockruff was used in the Akala Island grand trial alongside Rowlet, battling Olivia's Lycanroc and . Despite their opponents giving them tough times with their combination tactics, Rowlet eventually managed to defeat Probopass with . Unfortunately, Rockruff, who was acting aggressively, was so desperate to battle Lycanroc by itself that it impulsively used against Rowlet, accidentally knocking it out. Despite this setback, Ash encouraged Rockruff to use its fighting spirit, allowing it to outrun and defeat Lycanroc, thus earning Ash a Rockium Z. Professor Kukui and Olivia then revealed to Ash that Rockruff's behavior was a sign that it was going to evolve soon. In Rising from the Ruins!, Rockruff went off by itself to train after remembering the aggression it demonstrated during Olivia's grand trial. While training, it encountered , who challenged it to a battle. Rockruff was no match for the guardian deity, however, and was easily beaten. When Ash found Rockruff, he tried to stop it from running away again, but failed. The next day, Rockruff was walking on a cliffside when it got startled by a , causing it to fall down into a river. The injured Puppy Pokémon was later found by Olivia and Gladion's Lycanroc, who brought it to the Ruins of Life, where Tapu Lele resided. When Ash, Professor Kukui, and Olivia arrived at the ruins, Tapu Lele used to drain Ash and the two Lycanroc's energy, which it then used to heal Rockruff's wounds. Afterwards, Rockruff went to the edge of a cliff and began to howl as the setting sun . It then evolved into Lycanroc, after which it got happily embraced by its Trainer and the rest of Ash's party. In Mimikyu Unmasked!, Ash had Lycanroc use against Team Rocket, but the attack failed. After another attempt, Professor Kukui gave him some advice, which led to Ash training with and his . When Team Rocket showed up again and Jessie challenged Ash to a battle with her , Lycanroc mastered Continental Crush and sent Team Rocket blasting off, much to their surprise. In A Masked Warning!, Ash discovered while washing Lycanroc that it was so proud of its appearance that it would fly into a rage and attack if its fur got dirty. Lycanroc attacked and Litten fought back, with Ash placing himself between his two errant Pokémon. This helped Lycanroc to calm down, and it was very apologetic towards Ash. Later, Ash used Lycanroc to battle Gladion's , nicknamed Silvally, where it was outmatched by its opponent sheer power. During the battle Lycanroc was thrown into a nearby lake which drenched its fur, causing another rage during which it refused to listen to Ash's commands. Despite this, Silvally was still the stronger opponent and Lycanroc was easily held at bay before it could regain control of itself. After Lycanroc recovered, Ash and Gladion decided to continue the battle, but despite its best efforts, Lycanroc couldn't stand up to the power of Silvally's and was defeated. In Rescuing the Unwilling!, Lycanroc fought alongside 's , Snowy, against Lusamine's , which was under 's control. It saved Lillie from Clefable's with an . After Lycanroc knocked back Clefable with a , Lillie reminded Clefable of the Clefairy doll they used to play with together, in order to free it from Nihilego's command. When Clefable began powering up a move, Lillie gestured Lycanroc and Snowy not to attack before freeing Clefable with a simple embrace. In Tough Guy Trials!, Lycanroc was used to battle Nanu, going up against his . During the battle, Nanu had Krookodile deliberately anger Lycanroc, even going so far as to make it go berserk by dirtying its fur with . Despite the furious attacks in its angered state, Lycanroc was defeated after Krookodile used to send it flying before finishing it off with . Afterwards, at Acerola's library, Lycanroc sulked over its defeat. It was cheered up after Ash asked Acerola to help him find a place where he could train for a rematch with Nanu. In Some Kind of Laziness!, Acerola took Ash to see at the Ruins of Abundance so it could help him train. After some time, the duo managed to meet with Tapu Bulu and convince it to help them. At one point during their stay, it began raining, so Tapu Bulu decided to knock Lycanroc into a nearby pond, dirtying its fur and making it go berserk. By reminding Lycanroc of its time as a Rockruff and the bond they share, Ash finally managed to calm Lycanroc down. Impressed by this act, Tapu Bulu decided to battle Lycanroc. Though Tapu Bulu proved to be a powerful opponent, Lycanroc learned during the battle, after which Tapu Bulu called the battle off. In Guiding an Awakening!, Ash faced Nanu in a grand trial battle, but was only allowed to use Lycanroc against all three of Nanu's Pokémon. After managing to defeat Nanu's Krookodile and , it went up against Nanu's . Throughout the battle, Nanu used his previous strategy of angering Lycanroc so that it would go into its red-eyed state. Ash, worried that Lycanroc could go berserk again, kept telling it to keep calm throughout the battle. Nanu, realizing the truth of the situation, decided to anger Ash himself by mocking his skill as a Trainer. In order to calm its Trainer down, Lycanroc chose to tackle Ash, revealing that it was in complete control of itself the entire time. Realizing that he let his anger and frustration from Nanu's insults go to his head, Ash apologized to Lycanroc and continued the battle. After an exchange of Z-Moves with Persian as well as its newly learned , Lycanroc won the battle, allowing Ash to win a Lycanium Z. In Twirling with a Bang!, while on the group's third Ultra Guardians mission, Ash decided to use Lycanroc's new Z-Move to weaken the Ultra Beasts they were facing, and , while they were distracted by the performance provided by the group's other Pokémon. After the successfully executed had left the two Ultra Beasts momentarily vulnerable, and Lillie were able to them and thus complete the mission. In Securing the Future!, Lycanroc joined the rest of Alola in showering with light so it could return to its . In Showdown on Poni Island!, Ash used Lycanroc during his battle against Gladion and his own Lycanroc. Gladion's Lycanroc was able to withstand Splintered Stormshards before defeating Ash's Lycanroc with . In SM139, Ash used Lycanroc as his final Pokémon against Gladion and his own Lycanroc during the finals of the Manalo Conference. Ash's Lycanroc's attempts to get close to Gladion's Lycanroc were repeatedly intercepted by Counter and Stone Edge. After powering itself up with , Gladion's Lycanroc got close enough to attack with , only to get confused and bite its left arm. Ash had his Lycanroc take this opportunity to attack, only for Gladion's Lycanroc to retaliate with Counter, revealing it bit itself to snap itself out of the confusion. Ash had his Lycanroc rush in with Accelerock, hoping to land one final blow. Gladion had his Lycanroc intercept with one more Counter, but just as it connected, Ash had his Lycanroc use Counter as well. This sent Gladion's Lycanroc flying into the wall and subsequently knocking it out, thus winning Ash the battle and the championship.